Is it me or are kids Birthdays getting longer and getting more attention? When I was younger and even when raising my 3 daughters, Birthdays were celebrated on the day of the Birthday and maybe again on the closest weekend. Today kids have 3-5 separate days of celebration over a period of 2 weeks. It never ends and don’t get me started with the number of gifts. Here is somewhat of an example of a typical Birthday. The weekend before the Birthday is a celebration for one side of the family and the same weekend holds a 2nd event for the other side of the family. During the week there is the celebration at school. There is the day of the Birthday at home celebration. And then there is the party on the weekend after the Birthday because Mom & Dad have to celebrate the Birthday in a restaurant or park. And let us not forget the sleep over party also the weekend after the Birthday. Is this crazy? Do parents have that much time on their hands and that much money? Some of these kids are only 2 & 3 years old. They will barely remember these parties by the time they reach 20 years old. I cringe, at the thought of what these parties will look like at 16 years old. My Birthday parties were celebrated with Gramma and Grandpa, my parents, brothers and sisters. We shared HOMEMADE Birthday cake and a FEW SMALL gifts. That was it and we were happy with our special day.

I have seen parties just amongst my grand-children that make me shake my head. One ten year old was allowed to invite 15 friends. The gifts given ranched from $40.00 to $75.00. If that was all cash in my day I could have purchased my 1st car before I was 16 years old. Another grand-child who since he was 1 year old has had Birthday parties with 40-50 relatives attending. These were held either in a park weather permitting or a rented hall. At these parties I barely get 5 minutes with my grandchild. He/she gets so inundated with gifts that he can’t remember what you gave him. It sure does not make me feel special as a grandparent.